Polyfluorocarbon condenser plug

Abstract

A condenser plug for a leaky condenser tube has a cylindrical external fluorocarbon tube body with an integral plug base and a flanged lip, a threaded bolt coaxially fixedly integrally secured wholly within the cylindrical external body and the plug base, and a non-rotatable bolt head permanently anchored in the plug base. A cooperative metal expander bolt has a tapered external cylindrical contour and a coaxial internal threaded sleeve with a flat metal cap. On threading the metal expander sleeve on to the fixed threaded bolt, the tapered expander bolt seats in the annular cylinder volume between the threaded bolt and the fluorocarbon plug body, expanding and extruding the plug body to firmly secure the plug body in the condenser tube. The tube leak is sealed between two condenser plugs disposed at the two opposed condenser tube ends secured in the pair of condenser sheets.

I claim: 
     
       1. In a condenser plug for a condenser tube, the combination comprising: a cylindrical external tube body having a thermoplastic polymer composition adapted to thermoplastic cold flow extrusion and sealing at the condenser tube operational conditions, said tube body having a coaxial flat flange lip at one tube terminus and an integral plug base at the second tube body terminus, said tube body having   a threaded bolt coaxially disposed inside said tube body, said threaded bolt having a bolt head disposed in said integral plug base and fixed in position, said bolt having a bolt terminus adaptively disposed substantially below the exterior face of said coaxial flat flanged lip of said tube body, said threaded bolt and said tube body adaptively sized to provide an annular cylinder volume there between, and,   a cooperative metal expander bolt having a tapered insertion tip and an internally threaded sleeve adaptively providing a means of threading said threaded sleeve onto said bolt terminus, said expander bolt having a flat flange head whose diameter is not greater than the diameter of said coaxial flat flanged lip of said tube body, said expander bolt having an exterior bolt diameter adaptively sized to provide thermoplastic cold flow expansion and extrusion of said polymer composition to conform to the mechanical and thermal stresses for a specific cold flow sealing operation, sealing said condenser tube.   
     
     
       2. In the combination set forth in claim 1, the further modification wherein said polymer is a polytetrafluoroethylene. 
     
     
       3. In the combination set forth in claim 1, the further modification wherein said polymer is a polytrifluorocarbon.